Even as unemployment compensation frustrations mount in the county, there's some good news for those who want to collect a form of unemployment benefits.

On Friday, Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier announced in a news release that payments for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, program in the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 are resuming.

The PUA program assists workers who lost their jobs because of COVID-19 and are not typically eligible for other unemployment compensation. This $300 boost per week benefits gig workers, freelancers and self-employed workers.

Getting frustrated

Many Butler County residents who have formerly applied for extended unemployment benefits and are still waiting are very frustrated.

Lynn Fankhauser of Butler is one of them.

“I actually applied twice,” she said, “once in March and once in September. I was unemployed from March until July, and did not receive unemployment until April, I believe. And then it suddenly stopped coming in around May.”

Fankhauser had applied for state health insurance during that time, she said, “but it was never confirmed that was the reason I stopped receiving unemployment out of the blue. It took months for that lost money to get to me. I took a job in town just to pay the bills, and that company eliminated my position in September, so I applied for unemployment again.”

Fankhauser started as a psychiatric technician for Merakey in Beaver Falls two weeks later, and only received $25 from unemployment.

“Every time something was wrong, I could not get ahold of anyone from the unemployment helpline, and the online chat closed itself every time I tried to use it,” she said.

Eventually, Fankhauser received a call from the unemployment office to clear up some details, but still has no answers about why she was denied two weeks of full unemployment pay the second time, “or why I randomly stopped receiving it the first time,” she said.

Escalating calls

“I'm just as frustrated as they are,” said state Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th.

The numbers reflect the stress.

In 2019, in the entire year, only nine individuals requested help with unemployment claims from Mustello's office. In 2020, the office handled calls from 885 individuals. So far this year — from Jan. 4 until Jan. 21 — the office has handled cases from 210 individuals.

That equates to about 12 calls per day from those seeking help with unemployment compensation, according to Lisa Zaucha, regional coordinator of district operations for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

“I feel so bad for these people,” Mustello said.

A common complaint that Mustello fields: claimants who are locked out of the online system and not receiving compensation.

Mustello's Butler office maintains a dedicated staff to ensure the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Office of Unemployment Compensation reopens the accounts.

Other cases she handles involve claimants simply not getting payments.

Overwhelmed

The state unemployment office has been overwhelmed with applications, along with changes and additions to benefits, since the beginning of the pandemic.

Zaucha said the rules were changed for what claimants can qualify for as a result of the federal stimulus payment requirements, which changed from 2020 to this year.

And one federal payment program, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which was included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act for gig workers and the self-employed, had expired Dec. 26.

Mustello said the state House Committee on Labor & Industry is holding hearings on what she calls “an ongoing issue” to determine causes of the breakdown and delays in the state unemployment office.

The next committee meeting on the status of unemployment compensation is scheduled at 9:45 a.m. Jan. 27 in Room G50, Irvis Office, of the state capitol. For more information, visit www.bit.ly/UChearing.

Mustello said the claims approval from the unemployment office has been “expedited” as a result of legislative intervention. Still, she tells constituents who call her office to “keep filing,” she said. “Don't stop filing. And be patient.”

Increased demand

As a result of the increased demand for claimant reviews and approvals, the Labor & Industry office has dramatically increased the size of its staff, according to spokeswoman Sarah DeSantis.

“Since the pandemic began, we have almost tripled the size of our staff,” DeSantis said.

As of Monday, the Unemployment Compensation Service Center has 1,700 staff members, “an increase of 119% from the 775 employees on March 15, which is the date we use to mark the start of the pandemic in Pennsylvania,” she said.

The service center is handling claims and other questions remotely.

“Anybody who can be remote is working remotely,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis advises that the best and fastest way to answer questions about unemployment compensation, instead of calling them, is to use the department's email, uchelp@pa.gov.

Federal boost

In a release, Berrier, the state Labor & Industry acting secretary, announced that most Pennsylvania claimants will receive an extra $300 per week in unemployment payments this month. The extension of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, or FPUC, program is part of the federal stimulus from the CARES Act passed by Congress.

“This boost in unemployment benefits is vital to hardworking Pennsylvania families who have lost their income as a result of the global pandemic,” Berrier said in the statement. “I am pleased that (Labor & Industry) was able to work with the federal Department of Labor to get the information needed to quickly restart this program and get payments into the pockets of Pennsylvanians in need.”

The $300 is automatically added to each claimants' payment, so they do not need to apply. Approximately 127,000 claimants in the Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits programs will receive the $300 FPUC boost, according to Labor & Industry. The program runs the claim weeks ending Jan. 2 to March 13. According to Labor & Industry, there is no additional cost to the state's Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund.

Labor & Industry has noted in a release that it is still awaiting additional information from the federal Department of Labor on the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance programs. This information is necessary to ensure Labor & Industry follows the law, according to Berrier.

When payments resume, the department will backdate eligible claims to the week of Jan. 2 and add on the FPUC to ensure claimants do not miss out on any eligible weeks.

“We're urging the federal Department of Labor to give us the information we need to make the required changes to the program,” Berrier said. “Once we get it, we'll work as quickly as possible to get the extra $300 weekly payments to people in the PUA and PEUC programs.”

Final guidance

The federal labor department has not provided a time frame when the states will receive final guidance, especially affecting those who have been laid off a long time.

DeSantis noted that a typical claimant who files successfully will have 26 weeks of a determined amount (based on income for the entire claim year). For claimants who were laid off in 2020 and those who filed up to Dec. 26 last year, an additional 13 weeks are automatically added to their benefits. In addition, beyond the 13 weeks, the PEUC adds another additional 11 weeks of benefits.

An example: For most who filed early in 2020, unemployment benefits will continue along with CARES Act stimulus until the “sunset date,” DeSantis noted. That unspecified date will be determined by Congress, depending on how much economic recovery (and potential decrease in unemployment claims) are made as time goes by.

For those who need additional help, DeSantis noted the Department of Human Services can direct claimants to programs to help with nutrition (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), heating (the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program), health insurance and others.

In a release last week, Berrier announced the availability of $4.5 million in Digital Literacy and Workforce Development grants to support local programs across Pennsylvania that enhance foundational digital literacy skills for job seekers and help provide increased access to employment opportunities.

“Labor & Industry is focused on providing Pennsylvania workers with the necessary skills to navigate the new economy emerging in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic,” Berrier said in a statement. “The Digital Literacy and Workforce Development grants will help ensure that our workers develop the basic digital skills they need to succeed when applying for jobs and performing the essential duties that will be required of them in their new career.”

Locally, PA CareerLink is hosting a virtual job fair via Zoom from 10 to 11 a.m. Jan. 29 with a focus on manufacturing careers. Visit the Butler County Events Page at www.bit.ly/ButlerCareer to register.

“It's a first for us,” said Sue Bowser, site administrator for PA CareerLink Butler County. “We are trying to be cost-effective. Our plan (is) to do more in the future, depending on how this works. We will fine-tune any issues. Manufacturing will be the focus for this one.”

The organization also has an expungement webinar scheduled at 2 p.m. Jan. 28. See the Butler County Events Page and register using information on the calendar.